Reception were very sad to say goodbye to the ducklings today but have thoroughly enjoyed looking after them and learning all about their life cycle. The ducklings even visited the juniors on Monday and processed through the middle of a packed hall. We now have lots of pleas from the juniors to have their own experience of hatching ducklings! As part of their topic on African Safari, Year 1 enjoyed a visit from ZooLab on Monday, where they learnt about the fantastic large creatures found in Africa as well as getting to meet some smaller ones, including a snake, gecko and a tarantula! Fox Class enjoyed their trip to Shrek’s Adventure and Years 5&6 were visited by a BMX champion for a very hands-on workshop. I was amazed by the progress that every child has made with stunts. They began each session with understandable nerves, but the coach talked them through the process of turning off the negative voice in their head and they went from strength to strength asking for more! I was so impressed with the display at the end of the second day where some children showcased the stunts they had learnt.

Volunteers to Support in School

It is lovely to be able to open our doors again to visitors and to volunteers. We would love to build up a team of volunteers. In particular, we are looking for people who:

• Can read with children on each site. This is always a very special time for adults and children alike, as they can share books together and chat about them. We will happily offer training and support.
• Can support with cooking and craft lessons (either as a one off or regularly)
• Can accompany junior classes to the field for sports lessons.

If you or someone you know might be interested in one of these activities, please could they contact Ian Duncan to organise an up-to-date DBS check so that all the paperwork can be finalised before the Summer term.

Reminder: INSET Day - Friday 18th March

Please remember that tomorrow is an INSET day and school is closed to children.

Reminder: Charity Fun Run - Friday 25th March

As a school community, we have decided to support the crisis in Ukraine as part of our lent project of Courageous Advocacy. We have chosen two charities: 'Voices of Children', who directly support the psychological impact that war has on children in Ukraine, and Unicef who support all children and our journey to becoming a Rights Respecting School. We have chosen to raise money for these charities by completing a 'fun run' on Friday 25th March. Each junior class will run up and down The Cut and the Infant classes will run around the Infant astroturf. We are asking for each child to donate £1 to join us, but there will be opportunities to donate extra on the day! The children will need to be in their school PE kit or wear yellow and blue. Families are welcome to come and support, or even join in! The timetable is below:

• 9:15 a.m. - Eagle
• 9:30 a.m. - Macaw
• 9:45 a.m. - Lion
• 10:00 a.m. - Tiger
• 10:15 a.m. - Kipling
• 10:30 a.m. - Potter
• 10:45 a.m. - Antelope
• 11:00 a.m. - Gazelle
• 11:10 a.m. - Reception
• 11:30 a.m. - Year 1
• 11:50 a.m. - Year 2

Year 5/6 Girls’ Football

There was another win for our footballers this week, with a 3-0 victory against Corpus on Tuesday. Well done to Mr Newman and the team.

Parents’ Evening Next Week

If you haven’t already done so, please remember to book your appointment for parents’ evening on SchoolCloud. Please note that School closes an hour early on Thursday 24th.

Clubs Next Thursday 24th March

Please note that Junior Drama club and Year 3&4 football club will run on Thursday 24th March, at 2.30pm-3.30pm, as school closes early for parents’ evening.

Clubs Next Term

We have now finalised the new timetable of clubs, including more external ones, for the summer term and details can be found on the clubs page of our website. All clubs need to be applied for again, including all music clubs, as they are termly. I would like to say a special thank you to Mr Newman who has agreed to expand his range of clubs to include netball, in response to requests in the parent survey.

Booking for clubs run by school staff will be available on ParentMail from Monday 21st March at times specified on the timetable and separate emails you will receive for clubs your child is eligible to join.

External clubs can be booked via details in their links on the clubs timetable on our website.

Clubs start w/c 25th April and will run for 10 weeks to w/c 4th July, however due to INSET days and bank holidays there are the following exceptions:

• Monday clubs will run for 9 weeks to w/c 11th July, except girls’ football which will run for 8 weeks to w/c 4th July
• Year 2 Ocarina club will run for 9 weeks to w/c 4th July, as no club on 11th May
• Friday clubs will run for 9 weeks until w/c 11th July, except Netball club which will run for 8 weeks until w/c 4th July.

**Please note that the Infant football and infant dance clubs before school will take place at the Junior site, and children should be dropped off at the Junior site and then will be walked to the Infant site after the club.

Headteacher Recruitment Update

The Governors want to assure parents that the recruitment process for a new Headteacher is progressing. The interviews have been postponed until after Easter and the post readvertised in order to attract a wider selection of candidates and make the process more robust.

Jobs at Christ Church

We currently have a number of opportunities for you to join our fabulous team:

• Reception Class Teacher
• Upper KS2 Teacher
• Clerk to the Governing Body
• Teaching Assistant Apprentices

For more details please go to the vacancies page of the school website. Please note that we offer free places at Connect for members of staff.

Have a lovely weekend.

Tabitha White

Headteacher

Key Dates - Spring 2022

• Friday 18th March - INSET Day (School closed)
• Monday 21st March - Y5 Easter Experience at the Baptist Church - 11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.
• Wednesday 23rd March - Parents’ Evening - 4:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.
• Thursday 24th March - Parents’ Evening - 3:00 p.m. - 6:00. p.m (School closes 1 hour early)
• Friday 25th March - Charity Fun Run (am only)
• Friday 25th March - Junior PTA Second Hand Uniform Sale - 3:15 p.m.
• Saturday 26th March - PTA Easter Egg Hunt and Nature Afternoon - 2:00 p.m. - 4:00 p.m.
• Sunday 27th March - Junior Choir singing at St John’s - 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m. (Please note British Summer time begins on this day and clocks go forward)
• Thursday 31st March - Parents’ Open Afternoon (except Fox class)
• Friday 1st April - Easter Church Service - 9:45 a.m.
• Friday 1st April- Fox class Open Morning following church service
• Friday 1st April - Please remember, as is usual, school will close early on the last day of term, at the following times:
  • Infants @ 2:15 p.m.
  • Nursery @ 2.20 p.m.
  • Juniors @ 2:30 p.m.
  • Connect @ 5:15 p.m.

Key Dates - Summer 2022

• Thursday 21st April - Y6 Trip & SATS Talk at 6 p.m.
• Wednesday 18th May - Whole School Class Photographs
• Wednesday 25th May - Platinum Jubilee Tea Party: Infants
• Thursday 26th May - Platinum Jubilee Tea Party: Juniors
• Friday 27th May - INSET day (School closed)
• Monday 6th June - School closed (in lieu of Bank Holiday for Queen's Platinum Jubilee)
• Friday 10th June - Parent Rep Meeting - 2:00 p.m.
• Friday 10th June - Y4 sleepover (until 9am Saturday morning)
• Tuesday 14th June - Y6 Performance - 4:00 p.m.
• Wednesday 15th June - Y6 Performance - 7:00 p.m.
• Friday 17th June - Enterprise Day
• Saturday 18th June - Summer Fair @ Infant site - 2:00 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
• Monday 20th June - Infant/Junior Music Festival
• Thursday 23rd June - Y2 & Y4 Country Dancing Festival - 9:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
• Thursday 7th July - Infant Sports Day
• Monday 11th - Friday 15th July - Y6 Trip to Isle of Wight
• Monday 11th July - Reception Parents meet Y1 Teachers - 3:45 p.m.
• Tuesday 12th July - Y1 Parents meet Y2 Teachers - 3:45 p.m.
• Wednesday 13th July - Y2 Parents meet Y3 Teachers - 3:45 p.m.
• Thursday 14th July - Y3 Parents meet Y4 Teachers - 3:45 p.m.
• Monday 18th July - Juniors Sports Day
• Monday 18th July - Y4 Parents meet Y5 Teachers - 3:45 p.m.
• Tuesday 19th July - Y5 Parents meet Y6 Teachers - 3:45 p.m.
• Wednesday 20th July - Children meet new class
• Wednesday 20th July - Y6 Leavers’ Celebration for Y6 parents and children - 7:00 p.m.
• Thursday 21st July - Parents’ Open Afternoon
• Friday 22nd July - End of Year Service - 9:45 a.m.
• Friday 22nd July - Y6 Leavers’ Event - 2:00 p.m.
• Friday 22nd July - Please remember, as is usual, school will close early on the last day of term, at the following times:
  • Infants @ 2:15 p.m.
  • Nursery @ 2.20 p.m.
  • Juniors @ 2:30 p.m.
  • Connect @ 5:15 p.m.